The Korea Herald

[Newsmaker] IBK names Korea’s first female bank chief

Besides the first female president, Korea has seen another woman break through a glass ceiling, this time in the banking industry. Kwon Seon-joo, the senior executive vice president of the Industrial Bank of Korea, was named the next CEO of the state-run IBK on the approval of the Financial Services Commission on Monday. Before Kwon, no woman had been named CEO of a Korean bank. “We believe that Kwon is well qualified as the country’s first female bank CEO, which she has demonstrated through her

Dec. 24, 2013

[Newsmaker] IBK names Korea’s first female bank chief

Korea an outstanding destination for investors: Metzl

A senior fellow at the independent Asia Society said the Korean market had potential, with a better investment environment for foreigners in some areas than even Japan and China."I am a big believer in Korea, and always have been,” said Jamie Metzl, who was named the U.S. investment advisory ambassador at the New York office of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Korea’s current $1.5 million foreign direct investment, which accounts for only 1.3 percent of its gross domestic product, he

Dec. 23, 2013

Korea an outstanding destination for investors: Metzl

FSS opens probe on SC Bank, Citibank

The nation’s financial watchdog said Sunday that it would launch a special probe into Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Citibank Korea early next year over their “lax internal controls.” The Financial Supervisory Service plans to look into the recent customer data leaks at the two foreign first-tier banks here, as well as restructuring and dividend payouts to shareholders abroad. The move came after the FSS found the two banks responsible for the country’s largest-ever bank customer data leak of

Dec. 22, 2013

Local firms fine-tune their social contributions

Korean companies’ contributions to local communities are being diversified into unprecedented forms of philanthropy in step with a fast-paced change in technology.The spectrum of philanthropic activities has widened from the simple and time-honored act of giving money or goods toward novel projects such as donating a power supply, funding social enterprises, and developing innovative electronic gadgets for the disabled.Recipients are also more specified. Companies’ pro bono programs have been fi

Dec. 20, 2013

Local firms fine-tune their social contributions

Daewoo E&C probed for accounting fraud

The Financial Supervisory Service has launched a probe into alleged accounting fraud by Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., officials said Tuesday.The FSS said it opened the investigation after obtaining information on suspicions of window dressing by the country’s third-largest construction company.The builder’s stock price fell after the news of the probe launch, hitting 6,940 won per share, down 11.14 percent from the previous day. “The price is expected to continue to drop for the moment,

Dec. 17, 2013

Korea, a fascinating place to live: SC Bank Korea chief

It was no surprise to those who know him when Richard Hill, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Korea, was presented with Seoul Honorary Citizenship by the city government in October. He has made active social contributions to Korean society, and has helped enhance the city’s business environment and attract foreign investment.His six years in Korea with his family has been full of wonderful and unique experiences. Besides maintaining a strong work ethic, Hill said he has also made the most of the pa

Dec. 16, 2013

Korea, a fascinating place to live: SC Bank Korea chief

Homeplus tops foreign donations in Korea

Homeplus Co. was the largest donor to charity among foreign businesses operating in Korea in 2012 for the second consecutive year, according to an online corporate research firm on Monday.Data from Korea CXO Institute showed that Homeplus, a discount chain run by U.K.-based Tesco, donated 5.53 billion won ($5.26 million) in 2012 and 6.32 billion won in 2011 to charity, topping the research firm’s list of 50 companies with over 30 billion won in annual sales.These 50 foreign firms belong to vario

Dec. 16, 2013

Homeplus tops foreign donations in Korea

Foreign companies cited for social contributions

Six foreign-invested companies were recognized by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency on Thursday for their outstanding social contributions to the local community.The six awardees are DHL Korea, Wilo Pumps Ltd., FRL Korea, Pernod Ricard Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and L’Oreal Korea.DHL Korea won the top award for its global volunteer service and relief network. Wilo Pumps Korea won the honor for its dedication to the socioeconomically estranged seniors and orphans, and FRL Korea for d

Industry Dec. 12, 2013

Shinhan chairman reelected for second term

Shinhan Financial Group chairman Han Dong-woo was reelected to serve his second term, the company said Thursday. The board members of the candidacy reviewing committee reached a consensus to make Han the sole candidate for another three-year chairmanship term, Shinhan said. Meeting with reporters, Han said he had multiple goals in mind to bring about “warm finance.”Regaining his chairmanship, Han is facing multiple challenges next year, including the M&A competition over Kwang Ju Bank, a regiona

Dec. 12, 2013

Shinhan chairman reelected for second term

Car accidents double among smartphone users: data

The number of car accidents related to smartphones has doubled over the past three years with the rise in the use of mobile digital devices, according to a research institute.The Traffic Climate and Environment Research Center, a research unit of Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co., said in a report it released Wednesday that the smartphone-related accident rate increased 1.9-fold from 437 in 2009 to 848 cases in 2012.The abrupt rise in such accidents is attributed to both phone calls and the us

Technology Dec. 11, 2013

FSC gives MBK go ahead to acquire ING Life

The Financial Services Commission, the country’s highest financial decision maker, gave permission Wednesday for the acquisition of ING Life Korea by MBK Partners, the country’s largest private equity fund company.The FSC approved the deal in a general meeting, presided over by chairman Shin Je-yoon.Life Investment Corp. Ltd., run by MBK, sought to acquire 100 percent of the 8.2 million shares of ING Life Korea, a subsidiary wholly owned by ING Insurance International II B.V., the FSC said in a

Dec. 11, 2013

FSS to send Tong Yang chief’s case to prosecution for fraud probe

The Financial Supervisory Service decided to hand over Tong Yang Group chairman Hyun Jae-hyun and its former brokerage unit chief Jeong Jin-seok to the prosecution on charges of financial fraud, officials said Tuesday. The financial watchdog said that it has transferred its investigative data on chairman Hyun and ex-CEO Jeong to the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office. The data is said to concern Jeong’s alleged pressure on Tong Yang Securities employees to promote aggressive sales of commercial

Dec. 10, 2013

Card firms face sanctions for illicit insurance sales

The nation’s financial regulator has detected hundreds of instances of illicit insurance underwriting by card companies and is weighing penalty options, sources said Monday.The Financial Supervisory Service recently investigated allegations against card companies that customers were insufficiently informed about the insurance plans before applying over the phone. The problematic underwriting of insurance plans sold via card firms centers upon the telemarketers involved calling up the card users

Dec. 9, 2013

KDB, IFC to cooperate in global trade financing

The Korea Development Bank has launched joint trade financing projects with the International Finance Corp., a World Bank member organization, in a move to make inroads to trade funding markets in developing economies. The state-run KDB said Sunday that it had signed a KDB-IFC master guarantee and cooperation agreement on Dec. 5 to cooperate on IFC’s trade financing projects by sharing market information and business opportunities in developing countries.The agreement was signed a day after the

Dec. 8, 2013

KDB, IFC to cooperate in global trade financing

Goldman Sachs faces sanction for unauthorized sales: FSS

Regulators are set to punish the Korean operation of Goldman Sachs for breaching the law on sales of overseas financial products including government bonds issued in Malaysia.The Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday that it has completed an investigation into Goldman Sachs on allegations that the Wall Street giant sold the products directly to domestic consumers “without going through its Korean unit.”The nation’s laws and regulations require the sales of international bonds to the local

Dec. 5, 2013

Articles by Chung Joo-won